Help! Buy or rent equiptment?
 

Hi friends.

I have a project to work on. Just taking some portrait/product shots and it will be a monthly project. Should i buy equipment or rent it? Definitely need back drop and some lighting. Should i just buy a few yong nuo flashes and triggers? Or what should i do? Have absolutely no knowledge about lighting.

TIA

Depends what you want to do. If this is a one-time thing or once-in-a-blue-moon sort of shoot, then rent. No point buying everything only to have to try and sell it shortly after using them. This especially applies to backdrop and lighting.

If you find out that it's something you want to do going forward, renting is also a short term investment to be 100% sure.

It's really up to you- buying and reselling will likely end up being the same monetary value, but you have to produce the effort required to actually sell the stuff.

Craigslist, and resell after you are done. You won't loose much money that way, as long as you can find it for a decent price.

thanks guys! i dont mind reselling the things. can you guys point me towards a direction? i have no idea what lighting to get.

That's out of my domain. I currently have 2 speedlights controlled by wireless triggers used for macros and very informal portraits. Your particular use may require higher-powered strobes. It all depends on the nature of your assignment and how much power you need. If you're in a studio setting, you can probably use speedlights on the cheap but know that they have limitations with respect to output (especially when fired behind a light modifier).

Strobes fix the power issue.

So again, it really depends on what your assignment (and your personal requirements out of the exercise) requires with respect to lighting.

i want to take portraits like this.
http://images.lululemon.com/is/image...3_1?$pdp_main$

i want to achieve like a blackish grey ish background and have the subject lit up. im going to probably do it in my basement. will i be able to rent a backdrop that will be big enough? sorry i have no knowledge at all lol

If you decide to try renting instead, I highly recommend going through these guys.

Camera Rentals Vancouver

I use 'em to rent all the equipment I don't need often enough to often justify the high prices of buying outright. The main guy is super friendly, extremely helpful, and will often open up his shop even when they're closed if you find yourself in a jam.

Just rent a studio space for a few hours, these studios generally include lighting equipment and nice backdrops! There are many around Vancouver and go for about $30-40/hour

You can also come visit me in the rental dept here: http://www.beauphoto.com/frames/rtlfrm.html :)

This looks like a single large light source, maybe a 7' Octobank (based on the single round catchlight in his eyes) on a boom, placed above the subject coming down at about 45 degrees, maybe less. Unless you have at least a 12'~14' high ceiling in your basement, this look will be hard to pull off.

i decided to rent a studio!! where is a good place i can go to? i tried to google and i cant find a place ><